US embassy cable - 02KUWAIT5526

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 005526 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/26/2012 
TAGS: MOPS, PREL, US, FR, IZ, KU 
SUBJECT: IN WAKE OF FATAL ACCIDENT GOK SEEKS TIGHTER 
CONTROL OF JOURNALISTS COVERING US FORCES -- FOR THEIR 
SAFETY 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones, reasons 1.5(B) and (D). 
 
See action request in para 4. 
 
1. (C) In the course of a December 25 meeting on other topics 
(septels), the Ambassador and Kuwait Minister of State for 
Foreign Affairs Dr. Shaykh Mohammed al-Sabah discussed the 
December 22 death of French journalist Patrick Bourrat as a 
result of injuries he suffered the preceding day while 
covering a training exercise at the Udairi Range.  Dr. 
Mohammed asked the Ambassador whether the French had sought 
an explanation for the accident. 
 
2.  (C) The Ambassador informed Dr. Mohammed that he had 
received a letter from his French colleague, Ambassador 
Claude Losguardi, on December 23 requesting a report from the 
Commanding General of Third Army as to the exact 
circumstances of the accident and the nature of the medical 
care that Bourrat had received thereafter.  In response, the 
Embassy had provided a preliminary report prepared by the 
U.S. military.  When the final report was available it would 
also be provided.  At Dr. Mohammed's request, he shared a 
copy of Losgaurdi's letter and the preliminary report with 
him.  (See texts in paragraphs 5 and 6, respectively.) 
 
3.  (C) After perusing the preliminary report, Dr. Mohammed 
commented that it seemed clear that Bourrat's own actions had 
cost him his life.  Nonetheless, Dr. Mohammed was troubled 
that Bourrat had been able to leave a safe area to get in the 
way of the tank that hit him.  The report did not address how 
this happened.  He argued that by allowing journalists to 
observe its activities the U.S. military was implicitly 
assuming responsibility for their safety; procedures should 
have been in place to prevent this.  He urged the U.S. to 
consider instituting such procedures.  At the very least, the 
U.S. should insist that journalists sign some form of a 
release of liability that states that they understand the 
rules for their being allowed access to a hazardous event and 
agree to abide by them.  The Ambassador asked Dr. Mohammed 
whether this was an official request.  Dr. Mohammed said that 
it was; the MFA would follow up in writing. 
 
4.  (C) COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST:  Although a Ministry of 
Defense official had earlier complained to us about 
inflammatory "on to Baghdad" media coverage of recent 
training exercises, Dr. Mohammed made no reference to any 
such concern.  His focus was completely on the safety of the 
journalists and the desire to avoid any future accidents.  In 
this regard, we believe that he has made a useful suggestion. 
 If it's not already the practice, a standard legal release 
for journalists' signature that made it clear they understood 
the rules for an event and agreed to abide by them (perhaps 
under penalty of being excluded from participation in future 
events) could help prevent future accidents, or at least 
mitigate any diplomatic / legal fallout from them.  As the 
Ambassador told Dr. Mohammed, there will be a lull in 
training activity for the next few weeks anyway.  Now would 
be a good time to consider how to tighten procedures, 
including possibly the introduction of such a standard legal 
release, before field activities resume in earnest.  (We may 
even want to insist that the journalists' employers agree to 
the release to make the point that they share responsibility 
for their employees' behavior.) We recommend that action 
addressees consider this suggestion seriously.  Please 
advise. 
 
5.  (SBU) Text of Losguardi Letter (informal embassy 
translation of French original) 
 
"Mr. Ambassador, dear colleague, 
 
Thank you for calling me to express your compassion and 
sympathy following the accident that cost the life of Mr. 
Patrick Bourrat, TF1 journalist, while he was covering 
maneuvers of U.S. forces in the north of Kuwait. 
 
I would greatly appreciate it if you would intervene with the 
commanding general of Third Army to conduct an investigation 
as soon as possible to determine the exact circumstances of 
Mr. Bourrat's accident as well as the nature of the care 
provided to him by the American medical team at the Kuwait 
Armed Forces hospital. 
 
Thanking you for your cooperation, please accept Mr. 
Ambassador and dear colleague, the expression of my warm 
regards," signed Claude Losguardi 
 
6.  (SBU) Text of U.S. military report 
 
SERIOUS INCIDENT REPORT (SIS) 02-0034 (PRELIMINARY) 
 
1. TYPE OF ACCIDENT: ACCIDENTAL DEATH 
 
2. TIME OF INCIDENT: December 21, 2002, 0900 local 
 
3. LOCATION: NORTH SIDE OF UDAIRI RANGE COMPLEX (QT141893) 
 
4. VICTIM: BOURRAT, PATRICK NMN; CIVILIAN, FRANCE, 20 SEP 
1952, FRANCE; MALE; WHITE; 1 QUAI POINT DU JOUR, BOULOGNE, 
FRANCE; XZ; OTHER ID: FRENCH SSN, 1520999351379. 
 
5. SUMMARY OF INVESTIGATION: PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF 
USACID REVEALED THAT BOURRAT WAS SETTING UP TO FILM A 
BREACHING OPERATION CONDUCTED BY AN M-1A1 ABRAMS TANK. 
BOURRAT WAS INSTRUCTED TO SET UP IN A SAFE ZONE, BUT AS THE 
TANK APPROACHED, BOURRAT RAN ACROSS THE BREACH LANE TO TRY 
AND OBTAIN A BETTER CAMERA ANGLE, AND WAS STRUCK BY THE TANKS 
(sic) FLEXIBLE LEFT FRONT FENDER.  BOURRAT WAS THROWN 15 FEET 
AND LANDED IN A COIL OF CONCERTINA WIRE.  BOURRAT WAS 
ATTENDED BY A PA, AND LATER MEDICALLY EVACUATED VIA 
HELICOPTER TO THE KUWAITI ARMED FORCES HOSPITAL.  BOURRAT WAS 
INITIALLY ASSESSED WITH 4 BROKEN RIBS AND A COLLAPSED LUNG. 
BETWEEN 211600ZDEC02 AND 211900ZDEC02 BOURRAT SUCCESSFULLY 
UNDERWENT SURGERY TO REMOVE HIS SPLEEN AND INSERT A CHEST 
TUBE.  AT APPROXIMATELY 212345ZDEC02 COMPLICATIONS AROSE, AND 
HE SUCCUMBED TO HIS INJURIES.  BOURRAT WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD BY 
DR. (CPT) GEOFFREY G. HOBIKA AT 220023ZDEC02.  AN AUTOPSY 
WILL BE CONDUCTED BY FRENCH AUTHORITIES IN PARIS, FRANCE." 
 
 
JONES